But for Mob, it was Tuesday
by SilentJo
Summary: Mob and Ritsu are asked to pick up groceries on the way home from school. But the shoddy store they visit has more problems than it's lack of maintenance: a lingering spirit haunts it that feeds on negative emotions! Naturally, the brothers disagree on the best way to deal with it. - Is destroying it their only option, as Ritsu believes, or could there be another way to stop it?


"Why are we going this way, Ritsu? The store is in the other direction," said Mob. They were walking home from school when their mother called to ask them to stop at the store for some groceries she needed for dinner.

"I know, but I heard there's one closer that probably has the same items Mom needs."

Mob just nodded his head and followed along, his calm response slightly irritated Ritsu. He had grown used to his older brother's lack of emotion over the years. There were still times where he wished he'd show _some_ reaction. It hadn't been long since his outburst towards Mob after his psychic powers had awakened. When he looked at Mob now, he recalled the sadness on his face as he saw the beaten bodies around him in the alley, refusing to believe him to be capable of such cruelty. How he had been so naive to say it was a lie when Ritsu told him that he had lost interest in their relationship as brothers, refusing to admire him anymore. Why did his brother have to be so damn forgiving when he had said such hurtful things? His lingering guilt over that wouldn't leave him alone. At least if Shige would scold him or give him one good punch, at least he'd feel like he'd been punished and possibly move on.

"Uhm, Ritsu... This store doesn't look very inviting," said Mob as they stopped in front of a disheveled building with grimy windows. "Maybe we should go to our old store."

Ritsu shook his head, "Mom's waiting for the groceries, going back would just delay dinner longer. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I don't know what you guys expected coming to this part of town," said Dimple, the spirit that had taken to following Mob after being handily defeated by him.

"You know if you don't care for it, then you could just take off and leave us be. Your constant whining won't be missed, I assure you." Ritsu had grown tired of Dimple's presence, another reminder of his shameful interaction with his brother.

Dimple stuck up his nose to the younger boy, "I'm doing this more for your sake than my own, ya brat. You should be more appreciative."

The three of them stepped into the store, the inside more or less matching the outside regarding cleanliness. Whoever owned the store wasn't putting their profits, if any, towards maintenance.

"There's hardly anyone here, even though it's the busiest time of the day for stores like this," Mob noted.

"Considering where the store's located, are you honestly surprised by that, kid?" Dimple shook his head as he floated between their shoulders.

The boys found the products their mother requested and were almost ready to check out when Dimple directed their attention towards the back of the store suddenly.

"You sense that, Mob? That spirit over in the corner?" Dimple pointed as Mob and Ritsu looked on.

Mob nodded, "Yeah. It doesn't seem to be very active though. It is giving off a strong aura, feels very negative. It may be the reason there are fewer shoppers here than there should be. Can you sense it too, Ritsu?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is I'm starting to feel uncomfortable. Let's just buy this stuff and go home." He didn't want to admit that he couldn't tell there was a presence there at all. He had so much further to go in his psychic training, and it felt hopeless when he compared himself to his brother.

"You babies can go if you want, I'm checking it out. Something is interesting about this thing's energy." Dimple moved towards the back of the room towards the entity.

"Let's go, Shige. You heard that floating booger; he doesn't need us!"

"HEY! I heard that you little turd!" Dimple retorted as he approached the mass of energy that had huddled itself into the back corner near the bathrooms. "Hmm, I could have sworn I felt a sharp spike in its psychic energy just now."

Almost in response, the mystery spirit reached out a limb towards Dimple, catching him off guard. Once it made contact with him, the smaller ghost was slowly absorbed into the larger one.

"What the hell, let me go! Hey brats, a little help over here would be nice!" yelled Dimple, but before either of the brothers could react, he disappeared. The nearly formless mass now twisted and writhed, it's previously pale palette turning into vibrant shades of blue and green. Human features became prevalent until a young man was shaped and created. He stared at the brothers, his brow furrowed in anger. With the wave of an arm, it sent a kinetic wave towards them, Mob's barrier saving them from the force of the blow just before impact.

"This is crazy! We have to destroy it, Shige, before it can send any more attacks our way!" Ritsu cried out, but Mob only patted him on the shoulder and slowly walked towards their attacker. "What are you doing, brother?!"

"I'm going to talk to it, you know, see what's up and why he's so upset." Mob came to a halt in front of the spirit. "Hello, my name is Shigeo, but most people call me Mob. What's your name? What's wrong?" For a moment, the angry man seemed prepared to answer, but a psychic shockwave from behind Mob stopped him from doing so.

"Ritsu, what are you doing?" Mob turned to face the source of the attack.

"I'm saving you, that's what! There's no reasoning with something like that, Shige! Just think about it, that thing combined with Dimple. If we destroy it now, then we get rid of them both!"

"That won't be necessary, Ritsu. Just because we have the power to destroy it, doesn't mean we should. I've met a lot of these spirits since I've been interning with Reigen. Not all of them are inherently evil. They deserve a chance to at least explain themselves."

The spirit sent another burst of psychic energy their way, and again Mob used his barrier to protect the two of them. Angered by his attacks not connecting, the man's surrounding aura swelled, shaking the building's foundation. His next attack was a powerful beam of light energy, aiming it directly at the brothers. Mob countered with his energy beam, the two crashing against each other. A psychic tug of war game commenced, Mob's side slowly moving closer to the enemy spirit. No match for Mob's stamina, the ghost relented his attack and fell to the broken floor.

"All I wanted to do was get them back. If I have to be here, the least I can do is get my revenge!" The spirit began to sob as the boys approached cautiously.

"I didn't want to hurt you, but I couldn't leave my brother and me defenseless either. I hope you understand. Can we try talking again? What's your name and why are you here?"

The crying ghost calmed down enough to speak coherently again. "Ardan is- was my name. I worked at this store for nearly eight years. Ever since high school, actually. I did my work like I was supposed to, but no one ever appreciated it. My co-workers spent most of their time making my day harder so they could piss off and get paid for doing nothing. Complaining to the boss never fixed anything either, he'd just tell me "if you have time to come to bitch about it, then that must mean you need more work to do anyway." Even the customers treated me like crap. Anything they didn't like about the store they took out on me since I was usually the first employee they'd stumble upon."

"That sounds awful, and I'm sorry you had to go through that, Ardan."

"Yeah. And now I'm just stuck here, what a terrible way to end one life and begin the next."

Ritsu had a question for Ardan at this point. "Why do you feel like you're stuck?"

"Because this is where I died. I'm sure you can tell by the way this place looks that the boss doesn't spend any money on repairs. He'd normally ignore any repair requests, saying that it wasn't in the budget for this quarter and to mention it again later. One of the fluorescent lights had shorted out in the storeroom, making it difficult to see the groceries. I complained, but nothing ever came of it. So I decided to take care of it myself, what a stupid move that was. I set up the ladder and got up there to see what I could do. I turned the light off to be safe, but someone came through the doors and flipped the switch just as I made contact with the wires. The electricity seared through me, amplified by the metal ladder. I was dead before I hit the ground, although if I weren't then the impact would have finished the job anyway."

Ritsu could only listen, mortified to hear this man's tragic story. He was no monster, just someone that had been given a bad roll in life. And he'd wanted to destroy him without a second thought.

Mob nodded solemnly, "I think I understand now, thank you for sharing that, it must have been tough for you to do so."

Ardan nodded as his face twisted, holding back ghostly tears. "I've been unable to leave this place. At first, I wanted to destroy it all, but I was so weak that wasn't possible. Constantly watching those who had wronged me continue with their lives, unaffected by my death was so unfair. I noticed that I was slowly gathering energy though, and every once in a while I managed to create enough of a disturbance to scare someone. We didn't have a lot of customers before, but after I began haunting the store, the numbers decreased even more. My energy decreased along with it."

"That's because you were absorbing energy from the people here, specifically negative energy. I've seen your type of spirit before. You died with a lot of anger, so that is what supplies your energy as a spirit," Mob explained.

Ritsu understood the situation better now. "Ah, I see. And since Dimple isn't short on either negativity or anger, when Ardan absorbed him, his energy must have shot through the roof."

"Yes, I did notice that surge of strength as well. But Mob, you said that anger is the source of my energy here. Would that also mean that my anger is what is binding me to this place as well?"

"It's possible, Ardan. Most spirits remain in this world because they have unresolved issues at the time of their death. The negative feelings you had about this store and the people in it could be what's preventing you from moving on."

Ardan stood up with a smile on his face, wiping away the remaining wetness from the corners of his eyes. "I understand now. I have to let go of my resentment of this place and the people. If only I had realized this sooner. I wasted so much time and energy here, both in life and in death." The brothers noticed that Ardan was gradually fading away, his human form becoming unstable. A green shadow emerged from the nearly shapeless energy mass. Dimple exited as Ardan's ethereal form slowly disappeared before them. His voice echoed as the last of him left their view. "Thank you, Mob, for helping to free me from the anger that held me prisoner for so long."

Ritsu felt like he'd taken a kick to his chest, an ache with no external source lingered there. Ardan's last words had sunk in deep to Ritsu's heart. His anger had been restricting him lately, and now he could see where all of those negative emotions could potentially lead him. Once again his guilt struck him as his older brother bowed where Ardan had been standing. Shige's compassion didn't end with him but extended to all beings. How could he possibly stand by his side after the things he'd done?

As he rose, Mob brushed the dust and debris off of his uniform and turned to face Ritsu. "Well, I suppose we're going to have to go to our usual store after all. Aside from the damage, I don't think a store that's run so poorly and with such disrespect to its employees should get our business."

"You... you're right, brother."

"It's nice to see how concerned you two were about MY well-being!" Dimple said as he followed the two out of the nearly collapsed store. "It's not like I needed your help to get out of that guy anyway! I had it completely under control."

All Ritsu could do was let out an aggravated sigh as they attempted to buy groceries once more. If this was a typical day for Shige, then he had a long way to go and much more to learn.


End file.
